School Days
by ProcrastinatingPalindrome
Summary: This is a collection of stories written for the Russiamerica comm's Back to School event, following Alfred and Ivan from kindergarten to college. Friendship, fluff and eventual romance.
1. On This Humid Monday Morning

[This was written for the RusAme Back to School Event, day one: first day of school.]

There were certain rites of passage in a young boy's life, like having the training wheels taken off your bike and losing your first tooth and getting to climb on the_ big_ jungle gym at the playground. None of that compared to the milestone that was the big yellow school bus. Alfred had been itching to get on the bus that passed by his house every day for as long as he could remember. Getting on that bus meant you were old enough to go to kindergarten, and _that_meant that you were a big boy, just like Arthur. Except Arthur was even more grown up because he was starting high school now.

Alfred had always watched Arthur go down to the bus stop alone day after day, and it gave him a fluttery feeling in his tummy to finally get to walk out there side by side with his big brother.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Arthur asked for the hundredth time as they walked. "You haven't forgotten your lunch box? Do you have your crayons?"

"Yup!" Alfred said cheerfully, hopping over the cracks in the sidewalk. The morning air felt warm and sticky on his skin when he stayed still too long.

"And you aren't...erm..." Arthur cleared his throat. "Nervous at all? I-I mean you have no reason to be. I'm sure you'll be just fine. Of course."

Alfred frowned up at Arthur. "I'm not nervous. Are you?"

"O-of course not! It's only high school." He forced a unconvincing little laugh.

"It's okay, Arthur," Alfred whispered loudly. "I bet you'll make lots of friends too!"

Arthur gave him a crooked smile. "_You'll_have no trouble making friends, I'm certain. I won't be surprised if you've found a friend on the bus before you ever get to school."

"But I'm going to sit with you on the bus, aren't I? Arthur?"

"No, don't you remember? We're riding different buses. The high school is a ways away from the elementary school."

The fluttery feeling in Alfred's stomach suddenly turned heavy at the thought of being on the school bus without Arthur. "I thought we were gonna be together," he mumbled softly, looking down at his Superman sneakers.

Arthur reached down to ruffle his brother's hair. "You don't need me on that bus. You'll be just fine. Chin up! Oh, look. There's someone else waiting at our bus stop."

Alfred glanced up. There was a girl, a pretty girl with short hair who looked about Arthur's age. She was facing away from them and was bent over slightly, fussing with something on her legs. As they drew closer Alfred saw that there was a little boy, clutching at the girl's legs and burying his face in her skirt. She looked up and smiled weakly when she noticed Alfred and Arthur approaching.

"Good morning," she said. It sounded a little funny to Alfred's ears, the way she said it.

"Ah, um, good morning," Arthur said, suddenly stammering and nervous. "You, er, you have a very pretty accent. I-I mean, I'm Arthur Jones. It's...nice to meet you. B-bit warm today, isn't it?"

The girl blushed and looked away, smiling shyly. "It is nice to meet you too. I-I am Yekaterina Braginski, b-but you may call me Katyusha if..." her voice started to trail off. "I-if you like."

Arthur straightened his shoulders, trying to put on an air of confidence in the face of an intimidatingly pretty girl. "That's a-a very lovely name too. Are you from...er..."

"Russia."

"I-I thought that's what it was!"

Katyusha smiled, a little less timidly. "We moved here at the very end of the last school year, so we-" She broke off as she stumbled, holding her arms out to regain her balance. "Vanya," she sighed in exasperation at the little boy. "You are going to trip me!"

'Vanya' loosened his grip on her legs slightly, but kept his face hidden in her skirt. Alfred twisted his head this way and that, trying to get a look at the boy's face.

"Is he okay?" he asked Katyusha.

"He is just a little shy. Ah, this is my little brother, Ivan Braginski. He's starting kindergarten today."

"Me too!" Alfred said eagerly, bouncing on his toes. "And I thought you said his name was Vanya."

"'Vanya' is..." Katyusha frowned, hunting for the word. "It is...a nickname, I believe. I apologize, my English is not the best-"

"It's fine," Arthur quickly assured her. "Very good, in fact."

Katyusha's face softened into a warm smile. "We have family in America. They have been helping us learn English for some time now, even before the move."

"Does Vanya speak English too?" Alfred asked, eager for a boy his age to talk to.

Ivan turned just far enough to expose one eye from the protective shield of his big sister's skirt. "Yes," he mumbled, and immediately hid his face again.

"_Vanya_," Katyusha huffed in frustration. "You are being silly! Your English is even better than mine. Show them how you can talk like a grown up."

There was no more time for her to scold; there was a rumble down the street of a bus approaching.

"I believe that's our bus," Arthur said, squinting ahead.

"You really must let go now, Vanya," Katyusha said, prying the boy's arms off her. "You have to stay and wait for your bus."

Ivan reluctantly let go, and looked up at her with huge eyes. "I wanna come too."

"You can't! Stay with, um..."

"Alfred! My name's Alfred!"

"Yes, stay with Alfred! He'll be your friend!" She turned with a worried frown. "I-I mean, will you?"

"Sure I will!" Alfred said, inching over to Ivan who looked about ready to cry.

The bus have finally arrived, and Arthur reluctantly climbed on, glancing back at Alfred every few steps. "Be good!" he called back, and disappeared.

Katyusha followed close behind, waving goodbye. "Be brave, Vanya!" And then she too was gone.

The doors barely had a chance to close before Ivan burst into tears.

"Hey, hey!" Alfred cried, patting Ivan on the back. "What's the matter?"

Ivan sobbed miserably and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I-I wanna go home!"

"No you don't!" Alfred insisted. "School's gonna be fun! Arthur told me all about it. We get to color and have story time and snacks and everything. You'll like it!"

Alfred's words seemed to calm Ivan down a bit, but the other boy was still hiccuping and sniffling.

"I'll be your best friend too!" Alfred promised, and stepped closer to give Ivan a hug. Arthur always gave Alfred hugs when he was upset, and it usually made everything better. "We can sit together on the bus and play together every day! Every single day!"

"D-do you promise?" Ivan sniffed, hugging Alfred back tightly.

"Yup, promise! So don't be sad anymore, okay?"

Ivan sniffed once more, a big damp sound, and pulled away, tugging up his shirt to wipe his face. Alfred couldn't resist giving Ivan's exposed tummy a poke. Ivan made a little squeaking sound and looked indignant, but Alfred lunged back in for a tickle before Ivan could pull his shirt back down.

"Quit, quit!" Ivan giggled, trying to get away from Alfred's fingers.

"Made you laugh!" Alfred grinned triumphantly. Ivan looked a lot nicer when he was smiling instead of crying.

"I'm gonna tickle you next," Ivan threatened, wiggling his fingers and smiling wickedly.

"Better not!" Alfred sang, dancing away. Luckily for him, the bus pulled up at their stop in the nick of time. "You can't tickle me on the bus, or we'll get in trouble," he warned.

Ivan obediently dropped his hands and gave the bus a guilty look. "Do we get on now?"

"Guess so," Alfred said, gulping to gather up his courage. The steps were a bit large for his feet, but he bravely marched forward one step at a time. Most of the seats were still empty and he quickly hopped onto one near the front, waving for Ivan to join him.

"See, this isn't scary at all," he said confidently after Ivan had climbed up next to him.

"And school isn't going to be scary either?" Ivan asked, eyes wide and solemn.

"Nuh uh! Arthur said it's fun, and Arthur never ever lies."

Ivan smiled bashfully and reached over to hold Alfred's hand. "And you're gonna be my best friend. You already promised, so you gotta be my friend forever."

Alfred nodded with a toothy grin, squeezing Ivan's hand tightly. "Forever and ever."

Author's Note:  
>I thought the school bus was hot shit when I was five. Like, oh man, I'm on the school bus, I'm moving on up in the world!<p> 


	2. A Test of Courage

Written for the RusAme Back to School Event, Day Two: School Clubs

"Is that Venus?"

"No, I don't think so. It's twinkling. Planets don't twinkle."

"Yeah, that's right. Oh, I found the Big Dipper!"

"Where? Show me!"

Ivan grinned and grabbed Alfred's finger, aiming it skyward. "Right there. See where I'm pointing?"

Alfred tipped his head back, squinting into the starry sky. "I think...oh yeah, I got it! Wow, it's really big."

"Of course. It's the Big Dipper. Why would they call it big if it wasn't?"

"I don't know. People are weird. Hey, is that Orion's Belt?"

"I think so..."

Alfred flopped over backward into the grass with a happy sigh. Joining Astronomy Club was the best idea he'd ever had. Badgering Ivan into joining with him was the second best idea he'd ever had. The club was a small one, consisting only of Kiku, Yong Soo, Ivan and Alfred (and Mr. Wang, who ran the club,) but it was almost better that way. Yong Soo was always hanging off Mr. Wang and Kiku seemed happier staying near those two, which gave Alfred plenty of time to have Ivan all to himself. Best friends were supposed to do everything together, and Alfred wanted to spend all his time with Ivan.

Astronomy Club was even better than Art Club or Book Club, because they got to go on field trips...sort of. Mr. Wang had proposed an overnight event at the school for the club members to do some stargazing, and then camp out in a classroom. At first Alfred's parents didn't want to sign the permission slip (they said third grade was too young for field trips like that,) but they relented after much begging and pleading and promising to help with the dishes every night for a month.

"Do you want to go to space one day, Fredka?" Ivan suddenly asked, breaking into Alfred's thoughts.

"Of course!" he answered brightly. "I'm gonna be an astronaut when I grow up, and I'm gonna discover new planets and meet aliens and everything!"

Ivan glanced up. "Really? But space looks kind of big and lonely."

"Duh, Vanya. You're coming with me!"

Ivan brightened up. "I am?"

"Yup! We're gonna explore space together! But we hafta get really tough and smart first. They only let the best into NASA. And you gotta be really, REALLY brave if you wanna be an astronaut."

"Or cosmonaut," Ivan added.

"Same difference."

"Cosmonauts are better."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Stop that, both of you!" Mr. Wang called from across the field. "It's time for bed now."

Alfred moaned in protest on principle, but he was honestly getting tired. He rarely stayed up so late. Ivan had been yawning and rubbing his eyes for the past half hour and seemed to be in a similar situation. Obediently they trailed after Mr. Wang like ducklings as the teacher lead the way inside (except for Yong Soo, who insisted on walking next to Mr. Wang and chatting at him the entire time.)

The desks had been moved to the side in their usual classroom to make room for their sleeping bags, and after Mr. Wang walked them to the bathroom down the hall to brush their teeth, the boys finally settled in for bed.

"I'll be in the room next door," Mr. Wang told them as he turned out the lights. "If you need something, come find me first. There will be big trouble if I catch any of you roaming the school without supervision!"

Alfred sighed and snuggled down into his sleeping bag. To his right, Ivan was already dozing off, buried up to his nose in a sleeping bag decorated with constellations. Alfred's own had all the phases of the moon. Their semi-matching sleeping bags had been a Christmas present from Ivan's father when it became clear that the boys had a new obsession with space.

It didn't take long for Alfred to drift off too. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but after some time he awoke suddenly to an eerie creaking noise. Alfred went rigid, straining his ears. Where was the sound coming from? Maybe it was just the building making noises...or maybe it was a ghost. If there was one thing Alfred couldn't stand, it was ghosts. He gulped thickly and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to count sheep. Maybe it was nothing at all. Maybe if he just went back to sleep...

Then Alfred heard it, a ghoulish, haunting whisper. It was a thin sound, too faint to form words, but it chilled Alfred's very bones. He held his breath, forcing himself to be silent and still. If he played dead, the ghost would leave him alone! Except the ghost was dead too, so that probably wouldn't work. He almost screamed when he felt something tap his shoulder. Ghosts weren't supposed to be able to touch people, right? Or maybe this was a really bad kind of ghost.

Alfred sank down into his sleeping bag as he heard the whisper again, a little louder, two raspy syllables. Was the ghost getting closer, or just bolder? Or was it getting angry at Alfred for invading a the place where it died, or whatever ghosts got mad about? How old was this school anyway? Alfred wouldn't have pegged it as the sort of place to harbor ghosts. The tapping started up at his shoulder once more, a little harder and insistent, and there was that voice again-

"Fredka..."

Alfred stopped mid-mental rant. There was only one person who called him 'Fredka,' and he most certainly wasn't a ghost. Gathering up his nerves, he peeked over his shoulder. Ivan stared back, hand still raised to prod Alfred's shoulder again.

Alfred nearly deflated in relief. "Don't do that, Vanya! I thought you were a ghost," he whispered, closing his eyes again now that the crisis was averted.

There was another tap at his shoulder. "Fredka? Wake up..."

Alfred blinked into the dark again. Ivan's eyes looked large and worried. "What's the matter?"

There was an awkward pause. "I have to go."

"Go where?"

"No! I have to..._go_."

"Oh...oh!" This was most definitely a problem. "Mr. Wang said you gotta go wake him up if you hafta go to the bathroom. You aren't allowed to go by yourself."

"I know," Ivan whined softly.

"Then why don't you go get him?"

Ivan nibbled at his lower lip and finally blurted out, "Will you come with me?"

Just the thought of leaving the sanctuary of his sleeping bag and venturing out into the possibly ghost invested school made Alfred's stomach twist. "C-can't you go by yourself?"

Ivan sunk into his sleeping bag like a turtle retreating into his shell. "It's really really dark," he said faintly. "I-I don't like the dark."

Alfred blinked a few more times, trying to force his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. "Really?" Though now that he thought of it, it made sense. Ivan always had a great number of nightlights around whenever Alfred came over to stay the night.

"Please, Fredka?" Ivan begged. "Please, please?"

Alfred fidgeted nervously. He had to be brave if he wanted to be an astronaut. And true astronauts were good to their friends, right? Yuri Gagarin was a good friend! Alfred read all about it in a book Ivan let him borrow. So if somebody ever hurt Ivan, Alfred was gonna throw a drink in their face. And if Ivan had to pee in the middle of the night in a maybe haunted school, well...

"O-okay," he finally agreed, clambering out of his sleeping bag with trembling legs. "B-b-but you gotta hold my hand, okay? So you don't...get lost or anything. 'Cause it's really dark."

Ivan was on his feet and clutching Alfred's arm in a heartbeat. "Can you see anything?" he whispered.

"Not really," Alfred whispered back. "We'll just walk really slow so we don't trip. Um, have you...heard any funny noises tonight? Like creaky sounds?"

"No. Why?"

"N-no reason. Uh, d-do you think this school might be haunted?"

Ivan stopped their blind stumbling for a moment. "Fredka, are you scared of ghosts?"

"Wh-what? Of course not!" Alfred tried to laugh, a little too loud and a little too high pitched. "I-I'm not scared of some stupid old ghosts..." He started walked again, tugging Ivan along. The sooner they found Mr. Wang, the sooner he could get back in his safe sleeping bag.

"It's okay to be scared," Ivan whispered. "I won't laugh at you. As long as you don't make fun of me either."

"I'm not mean, Vanya. I wouldn't tease you. Not ever!"

"I know," Ivan said softly. Alfred couldn't see in the dark, but it sounded like Ivan was smiling.

They managed to make it out into the hallway without much incident (except for Alfred bumping into a desk once,) and began feeling their way down the hall to Mr. Wang's room. Suddenly, the building gave another spooky creak. Alfred froze in place.

"V-Vanya..." he quavered. "Did...did you hear that?"

Ivan gulped audibly. "I-I think it was just the building making noises."

"But what if it wasn't?"

"Don't worry, Fredka," Ivan said bravely. "I won't let any ghosts hurt you. If any ghost tries to get you, I'll...I'll kick him!"

"You can't kick a ghost! Your foot will go right through 'em!"

"I bet I can kick a ghost. I can kick really hard!"

Alfred had to admit, Ivan could probably kick a ghost if anyone could. He had very strong legs. Everyone always wanted Ivan on their team whenever they played kickball. The thought was encouraging, and Alfred gripped Ivan's hand a little tighter. It was easier to be brave with Ivan at his side.

At long last, they found Mr. Wang's room. The door opened with a squeak that sent a shiver down Alfred's spine, but the soft snoring from within the room was encouraging. Ghosts always stayed away from grownups. Arthur told him that, so it had to be true!

"I don't wanna go in there," Ivan mumbled. It was easy to see why. The room was pitch dark. The boys' classroom had a window to let in a little moonlight, but Mr. Wang's room was as dark as a cave.

"Mr. Wang?" Ivan called quietly, fidgeting at the entrance to the room. "W-wake up, Mr. Wang..."

"Mr. Wang!" Alfred shouted. "Vanya's gotta go to the bathroom!"

"You didn't have to say it that loud!" Ivan whined in embarrassment, but Alfred's method seemed to have done the job. There was a thud and a muffled curse, and a very ruffled looking Mr. Wang finally stepped out of the room.

"You're always so loud, Alfred," he groaned. "What do you need?"

"I like your slippers, Mr. Wang," Ivan said. Alfred glanced down. Their teacher was indeed sporting Hello Kitty slippers.

Mr. Wang colored. "Th-these aren't mine! I'm...borrowing them. From a friend."

"Then I like your friend's slippers," Ivan said simply.

"Never mind that!" Mr. Wang growled. "What on earth did you two wake me up for?"

"Vanya's gotta pee."

"I was going to tell him, Fredka! You're embarrassing me!"

Mr. Wang rubbed his face wearily. "Quiet down, both of you. Come along, Ivan, I'll walk you there. Alfred, you can go back to bed if you don't need to go too."

Alfred hesitated, looking back at the dark, empty hallway before him. "I-I'll wait for Vanya. He probably doesn't want to go back by himself."

Ivan glanced over his shoulder and smiled as Mr. Wang ushered him down the hall. Alfred trailed behind and sat down outside the bathroom to wait until Ivan finally emerged again, looking very relieved.

"All better?" Alfred asked. "Ready to go back to bed now?"

"Ready," Ivan answered, grabbing Alfred's hand again. The way back was faster and easier, now that their eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, but Ivan still held on tightly until they were back at their sleeping bags.

"Thank you, Fredka," Ivan whispered as he crawled back in place.

Alfred squirmed, suddenly feeling oddly shy at the warmth in Ivan's voice. "It's nothing. We gotta look out for each other when we're astronauts too! Space is really dark, right?"

"You mean cosmonauts," Ivan mumbled sleepily, wiggling in his sleeping bag until he was curled right up against Alfred's side. "And there might be space ghosts."

"You can kick 'em for me," Alfred yawned. All the worry about ghosts seemed to fall away with Ivan so close. He snuggled against the warm body through the layers of sleeping bags and drifted back off to sleep.

Author's Notes:  
>The thing about throwing a drink in someone's face was a reference to the story that Yuri Gagarin threw a drink in Brezhnev's face after his best friend was sent on a suicidal mission. True or not, Gagarin was a legit badass.<p> 


	3. No One Ever Said Life is Fair

Written for the RusAme Back to School Event, Day Three: School Dance

If there was one thing Ivan Braginski knew about middle school, it was that it was incredibly unfair. He had been in the same class as Alfred every year since kindergarten, but they were promptly separated once middle school began. It was surprisingly lonely to be in an Alfred-less class. Making new friends had never been Ivan's forte, and it only got worse in middle school. For some reason, his new classmates had decided that Ivan was a bully and to be avoided at all cost. It probably had something to do with his growth spurt. Ivan had been growing like a weed ever since the end of fifth grade, and now stood a full head taller than the entire class. Worse than that, he still had more than his share of baby fat clinging to to face and stomach. He was simply _big_, intimidatingly so.

He tried to smile at people, but they would just grin awkwardly and step back. He tried to be friendly. He gave one of the smaller boys a pat on the head once (just a friendly pat!) and then later everyone started saying that Ivan was being rough with him. And then there were the whispers behind his back. _Tubby, fatty, fat-ass_. No one had worked up the nerve to say it to his face yet, and that made it hurt even more. It wasn't fair.

From what little Ivan saw, Alfred wasn't fairing much better. Puberty had made him gangly, all elbows and knees and fast growing feet that kept tripping him up. He had recently acquired glasses _and_ pimples, which was a terrible combination for someone who already had a reputation as a nerd. Ivan was big and clumsy and awkward, and so earned the label of _stupid_ in spite of his good grades. It seemed to go hand in hand with being a supposed bully; someone his size had to be of the dumb brute variety. But it was never a secret that Alfred was intelligent, not when he would cheerfully show off how he knew the periodic table of elements by heart and broke out books on the Space Race during study hall.

In the eyes of their classmates, Ivan was the stupid, oversized bully. Alfred was the scrawny, loudmouthed geek. No one had the courage to bully great big Ivan. Alfred wasn't so lucky.

He would never tell Ivan anything, not when they ate lunch together or walked home from school side by side or shared their homework in Alfred's old treehouse. He always said he was fine, but sometimes one of Alfred's books would be torn up, and sometimes Ivan had to peel 'kick me' notes off Alfred's back, and sometimes Alfred's eyes would be suspiciously red on the way home (and the sight always made Ivan's stomach hurt.)

Perhaps they were growing apart. Why else would Alfred be so secretive? They always told each other _everything_ in elementary school. What was different? Aside from Ivan getting taller and more clumsy. Aside from those really weird dreams he had about Alfred sometimes...

It wasn't fair, but something was growing up between them. And so Ivan found himself alone, sulking in a corner at the school dance and feeling oddly rejected as he watched Alfred do the Macarena by himself to the amusement of a group of girls. Ivan tried very hard not to care. Alfred could hang out with whoever he wanted. It wasn't like they had to be together for every second of every day. And it wasn't like Ivan wanted Alfred dancing with him. So it didn't matter.

He huffed a sigh and turned his attention back to the sickeningly sweet cup of punch in his hand. He had no one to talk to and no one to dance with (not that he wanted to!) which only left the food to keep him occupied. The punch was horrible, but there was an assortment of snacks on a table nearby. Ivan had been avoiding them, not wanting to encourage his reputation as a fat pig, but he was hungry and bored and just couldn't find it in himself to care anymore.

Ivan was just filling up his plate with chips and dip when the commotion started. It was just a crowd of students at first, gathering around someone at the far end of the table. Ivan ignored it at first in favor of grabbing a few celery sticks, but soon the voices began to pick up and turn rowdy. Ivan froze, celery still in hand. He could have sworn he heard Alfred's voice coming from that crowd. He hastily set the plate down and inched closer. He could hear laughter and jeers, and then Alfred's voice through it all.

"Shut up! I said shut up! It's not funny!"

Ivan grit his teeth. No matter how confusing thing were between them, Ivan would _not _sit by and let anyone pick on his best and only friend. He set his jaw and marched over, struggling to worm his way through the crowd. For once his bad reputation worked in his favor; the other students immediately backed out of his way once they got a look at his face.

The crowd became thicker, curled around the end of the snack table, and Ivan was still pushing his way through when he heard Alfred shout, "No, don't!"

Finally Ivan broke through, just in time to see Alfred, sans glasses, staring in horror at one of the taller boys, who was enthusiastically stomping on something. Ivan's stomach clenched when he saw Alfred's glasses, now a sad little heap on the floor, as the boy continued to crush them underfoot.

Ivan saw Alfred's shoulders slump in defeat, saw him bite his lip and blink hard, and suddenly Ivan saw red.

It all happened so fast, too fast for Ivan to think until after he had snatched up a cupcake from the nearby snack table and threw it into the face of the ringleader. Time froze for a moment, and Ivan could only stare at the other boy who now had a mess of icing and crumbs smeared across his face.

Ivan stood perfectly still, almost trembling with rage, waiting for the retaliatory blow. It didn't even matter. At that moment all he wanted was to hurt that boy as badly as he had hurt Ivan's Fredka.

And then someone shouted, "Food fight!"

It was amazing how the situation turned into utter chaos so fast. All at once food was flying through the air in every direction. Ivan wasn't entirely sure if it was the bully hitting back or if it was just a random act of the mob, but someone dumped a cup of punch over his head. He spit out the bit that got into his mouth, blinked through the stickiness that now coated his face and scanned the crowd for Alfred. Finally he found him, crouching under the volley of flying food and looking entirely bewildered. Ivan just grabbed his arm and tugged him away, towards to exit to the hallway and safety.

Now that the protective fury was starting to fade, Ivan felt very foolish indeed. What kind of idiot throws a cupcake at someone? Maybe he had entertained the idea of being a hero and getting to save Alfred from his tormentors, but he had certainly made a mess of that. Now Alfred would think he was stupid too, just like everyone else. And he was covered in punch and his hair felt all gross and sticky and-

"Hey, Vanya?"

Ivan stopped his tracks, realized he was still holding Alfred's arm and immediately let go. "Hm?"

"I can't see all that great without my glasses, but did you seriously just throw a cupcake at that guy?"

Ivan stared at the floor, cheeks burning. "I-I didn't have anything else to throw," he mumbled weakly.

"Dude!" Alfred stepped closer, beaming. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen."

Ivan's head shot back up, hope flickering to life in his chest. "R-really?"

"Yeah, seriously! It was awesome. It was like...oh hang on, wait a second." Alfred reached up to grab Ivan's chin, turning his head to the left. "Oh my god, is that blood on your cheek!"

Alfred's face was suddenly very close, and his hand was still on Ivan's chin, and for one (horrible, fantastic) moment he thought Alfred was going to kiss him...

...and then it was over.

"Oh, false alarm!" Alfred laughed. "It's just ketchup."

Ivan managed a small smile and tried to squash down the soft burn of disappointment for a reason he couldn't quite name.

Life wasn't fair at all. But as Alfred grabbed Ivan's hand again and chatted about how cool Ivan had been, how he was a real hero for standing up to that jerk...he couldn't bring himself to be too bothered.

Author's Note: I'm not very happy with this one, but I really just wanted to get it over with at this point so I can move on to other things. Kind of drew on some of my own experiences here; I was bullied pretty badly in middle school. Oh well.


End file.
